User Reviews

Mamajuana Cafe

Posted by Urban Suburban on 08/12/2009

They think they're downtown.

I've been there five times and every time the service was extremely slooow. The food is very good but the portions are very small and priced too high for the area. People move to Inwood to get away from high downtown prices. Just because white people are moving to the area doesn't justify the high price.

Mamajuana Cafe

Posted by Pleasantly Surprised on 08/03/2009

Romantic Summer Evening

My husband and I dined at Mamajuana this past weekend. We've been there for brunch several times and found it to be good but inconsistent. We had never had dinner there before, however. It was a gorgeous summer night and we wanted to enjoy a meal uptown and outside, so Mamajuana seemed like it would fit the bill. The wait for a table was shorter than expected (yay!) and once seated, we didn't have to wait long for a waiter. We decided to just have two entrees and a drink, which turned out to be just the right amount of food. We ordered the Tilapia and the Lamb and both were really excellent. Our waiter then tempted us with the brownie dessert with ice cream - very yummy. Even with the loud music playing from a car down the block and it being a generally busy night out, we felt like we were transported out of the city, on vacation in another country. We'll definitely go back for dinner again.

Mamajuana Cafe

Posted by Expresivo on 05/10/2009

Mamajuana is bueno!

I took my mom and her friend to this restaurant to check out a different type of restaurant and we were not disappointed! The food we ordered was a sampler appetizer and also a main course seafood combination that were both delicious and fulfilling. I had that mamajuana mojito which tasted great and gave me a nice buzz as well. :-) My mom had the sangria and she liked it, while my mom's friend just had a beer. My mom and her friend enjoyed the restaurant very much because we went on a beautiful night and we got to dine outside the restaurant and enjoy the cool breeze and overall night time atmosphere. For those complaining on the long wait, well you need to think about this. Maybe you need to get a reservation beforehand because when you analyze it, Mamajuana is not that big of a restaurant in size and there is apparently a high demand to eat there. So when you factor into the equation of going there on a popular night to go out eating (Friday & Saturday night), a long wait should be expected. Olive Garden in Times Square is a long wait time and that restaurant is pretty big! Anyway, I would tell all the people who are reading these reviews to just go to the restaurant and experience it for yourself. Just remember to accommodate yourself to get parking at a garage and to choose WHEN you go WISELY, so that you don't have to wait more than you would like. I guarantee you that once you experience the food and drinks there, you will LOVE IT!

Mamajuana Cafe

Posted by Typical New Yorker on 04/20/2009

It's convenient

Every restaurant has its good and bad points, so let’s start with the good. Mamajuana is very conveniently located on Dyckman Street, a few blocks from the Henry Hudson Parkway and only one block off Broadway. Unfortunately, that’s the only good thing that I can say about this hangout. It’s hard to determine what’s worse, the food, the patrons or the inconsiderate owners. On any given night, you can order a meal and end up with something totally inedible. I guess it’s cheaper to load everything down with salt than to hire someone who actually knows how to cook comida Latina. However, on ANY night, you can be sure that you’ll be surrounded by a bunch of noisy drunks who don’t know when to stop drinking and who think that it’s their God-given right to run amok. Mamajuana is so interested in making money that it could care less if it over-serves its customers to the point where they are a menace to themselves and everyone else on the road. These jerks think nothing of blasting their car radios, roaring around the neighborhood on motorcycles and generally making a complete nuisance of themselves. Decent people are trying to sleep at 3 a.m. on weeknights so that they can get up for work the next day.

Mamajuana Cafe

Posted by ADK on 02/15/2009

Not what I thought it was

I am a believer of second chances, I've been to Mama Juana two or three times and I don't seem to get why people are so crazy about this place, there is nothing crazy to be about. First, they're not very clean. They don't have a signature sangria flavor, it tastes different every time, although I see the same bartender. Lastly, if management does not know you, you are not well served. What a shame.

Mamajuana Cafe

Posted by Dominicana on 02/15/2009

Subpar

I went to this place on Valentine's day. They told me the wait was half hour and ended up waiting 1 hour and a half. Customer service was probably the worst I have ever experienced. They were unprofessional and disorganized. To make matter worst when we got the bill they overcharged us by almost $200. Luckily I was able to speak to the manager and got it reduced. I have absolutely nothing good to say about this place....Even the food was not worth the wait or the money.

Mamajuana Cafe

Posted by Ula on 10/13/2008

Got more than we bargained for

Recently they changed their menu and it was actually a pleasant surpirse. The generous appetizers were better than the main entrees - the calamari dish is topped with a crunchy, green salad, which makes it a bit soggy rather than crispy but overall good. The 6 grilled shrimp come with a great buttery sauce and toasted bread on the side. The personal mushroom pizza is too greasy although the crust is very thin and crispy. The lamb chops aren't very tender but the presentation over string beans with potatoes on the side is complementary. It was a pleasant surprise in this neighborhood, as we didn't have high expectations. The overall good meal was disturbed by a gang fight with baseball bats. This area has a long way to catch up with the not so average dishes presented. The service is nice and cordial.